Closure



July 17, 1951 J. F. HORVATH CLOSURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 8. 1946 INVENTOR.

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' ATTORNEYS Patented July 17, 1951 CLOSURE John F. Horvath, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Appliance Corporation of America, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application April 8, 1946, Serial No. 660,482

Claims. (01. 220-) The present invention relates to a laundry machine, and more particularly to a novel door and mounting therefor in a laundry machine tub having a spherical or rounded upper portion.

The invention is particularly adapted for use in a laundry tub of the kind disclosed in my copending abandoned application, Serial No. 637,- 964, filed December 29, 1945, but may be used with laundry machines of other kinds and types.

An object of the invention is to provide a cover for a laundry tub mounted in the interior of the tub; a further object is to provide a cover for a laundry machine tub which will rotate or slide into closed and open position; another object is to provide a cover in the interior of a laundry tub provided with a flexible extracting member adapted to be forced against the material in the top of the tub to extract water therefrom, and

which cover will withstand the pressure of such member without being forced out of shape and become difficult to operate.

Another object is to provide a cover for a laundry tub which has a part which obstructs the lid or cover for the laundry machine casing and prevents closing of such lid except when the tub cover is properly closed. An object, therefore, is to provide a construction which calls the attention of the operator to an incomplete or improper closing of the tub cover. If desired the casing cover can be provided with a safety switch which will close the circuit to the laundry machine power means only when the casing cover is completely closed and which can be completely closed only when the tub cover is likewise completely closed.

Further objects will become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred form of the invention, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in section and with parts broken away, of a laundry machine equipped with an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the laundry tub disclosed in Fig. l with partsbroken away to show certain of the details of construction.

Fig. 3 is a side view. partly in section, of a laundry machine tub provided with a door of alternate construction.

Fig. 4 is a top view Of the tub shown in Fig. 3 with. the door in closed position.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but with the door in open position.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of a laundry machine provided with a door of another alternate construction and showing the door in closed position. V

Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, but with the door open.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 88 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the pivot arrangement for the construction shown in Figs. 6-8. I

While the invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, there is shown in the drawings, and herein described in detail; a preferred form, with the understanding that it is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is shown a casing H) in the upper part of which is a com partment H housing a washing and extracting tub I 2. The lower part iii of the casing provides a housing for the mechanism for operating the tub. The casing is preferably mounted on a base I! and the top thereof isprovided'with a cover I 5 closing a central opening therein. v

The tub I2 is formed of two substantially hemispherical sections l6 and I! provided with radially extending flanges clamped together by an annular clamping ring l8. The interior of .the lower tub section is provided with a pair of inwardly extending ribs l9 and 20 and a pair of ribs 2| and 22 of rubber orother suitable material extend inwardly from the uppersection' I'I. These ribs are preferably in the same vertical plane and function during an oscillatory movement of the container to produce a washing action of liquid on the clothes or other materials placed ,in the container. A flexible member 23 is arranged normally to fit against the inner surface of the lower tub section I 6 and is provided with means whereby it fits snugly over the ribs I 9 and 20. The edge of this flexible member, which may be of rubber or other suitable material, is. secured between the flanges on the container parts I 6 and H and is clamped therebetween by the'ring l8. The tub is arranged to be oscillated by means of a shaft 24 secured to the center of the lower tub section l6. a

Means for operating the tub for washing, rinsing and extracting 'fluid from the clothes or other materials placed in the container, is described in detail in my above co-pending application, Serial No. 637,964, and reference should be made to it for a complete understanding of such operation. The tub shown herein is provided with a circular opening 25 in the upper section I! surrounded by an upstanding lip 26 provided with suitable apertures 21. On the interior of the upper tub section I! are a pair of spaced plates 28 which are bolted to the inner wall of the tub section and substantially span it. Between the wall of the tub section I! and the plates 28 is a door or closure 29 provided with a plurality of drain openings 30 and a handle 3| spaced from one end of the door. The door is also provided with two elongated slots 32, one adjacent each side edge thereof and adapted to receive one or more of the bolts 33 connecting the plates 28 to the tub section II. Both the plates 28 and the door 29 are curved to conform to the curvature of the inner side of the tub section II. The door, therefore, is freely slidable longitudinally in the tub on the plates 28, but the bolts 33 prevent lateral movement thereof, and the handle 3| contacting the lip 26 limits the longitudinal movement and provides a stop member for the door; the handle 3| being spaced from the end of the door, permits the door to completely close the opening 25. A latch means 34, pivotally mounted on the tub, and having a spring pressed finger 35 on the interior of the tub adapted to fit into a hole 36 in the door, locks the door in closed position. This latch means is more clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The material to be washed is placed in the tub after the cover I of the casing has been opened and the door 29 slid to the position shown in Fig. 2. The door 29 is thereupon closed, the

cover placed on' the casing l0, and the machine,

is operated to wash and rinse the clothes as, described in my copending application, Serial No.'

637,964. Fluid under pressure is then directed to the lower tub section It under the flexible member 23 which forces the water out of the tub and the clothes against the top of the tub section I! and the door 29, whereupon the fluid in the clothes is squeezed out of the tub and flows through the openings 30 in the door and the openings 21 in the lip 26 and down the sides of the tub and is then drained from the casing. The door is of considerably greater area than the opening 25 in the upper tub section. By reason of its greater size, a considerable part of the door is pressed against the inner wall of the tub, which acts as a brace and assists the part below the opening to withstand the pressure exerted against it, thus preventing warping or other deformation.

In the construction shown in Figs. 3-5 inclusive the tub 38 is provided with opening 39, having a raised lip 40 thereon and adapted to be closed by a circular door 4| of substantially the same curvature as said tub and having a pluality of apertures 42 therein. The door 4| is rotatably mounted on a pivot 43 extending from the exterior to the interior of the tub and preferably provided with a spring 44 on the exterior to facilitate its movement to and from closed position. The door is provided with a handle 45 and the tub has a latch 46 similar to the latch 34 of Figs. 1 and 2, and provided with finger 41 adapted to fit into an opening in the door 4| similar to the opening 36 in Fig. 2. As shown,

the door 4| is of substantially greater size than the opening 39.

Figs. 6-9 disclose a casing ||0 having a square door I mounted on one end of arms 2 which extend through openings in the casing and the other ends (notshown) of which are hinged to the under side of the casing top. The casing has a central opening through its top, such opening being encompassed by a square depression adapted to be closed by the door Ill. The tub 3 of this construction is substantially spherical and is provided with a central opening 4 in its top having a raised lip H5 thereon and adapted to be closed by a circular door I I6 01 substantially the same curvature as the tub. Both the lip and door are provided with a plurality of drainage apertures similar to apertures 21 and 30, respectively, of Fig. 1.

The door H6 is mounted for rotation on a pin extending through an opening in the tub and provided with a spring 8. The door H6 is exactly the same in construction and mounting as the door 4| of Figs. 3-5, but its handle and latching construction are quite different. The handle 9 comprises an elongated hollow member having a curved free end I20. The top and sides of the handle are of metal but the bottom |2| is of rubber. The handle is pivotally or hingedly mounted on a pin I22 in a bracket I23 suitably attached to the cover 6.

To open the door 6, the operator raises the handle 9 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6 and then pulls it and the door to the side, thus causing the door to rotate aboutits pivot I I1 until the underside |2| of the handle cbntacts the edge of the casing which acts as a stop to limit further movement of the door. When it is desired to shut the door, the handle is pushed until the door is in the position shown in Fig. 6, at which point it is completely closed. The handle is then swung to closed position and the casing cover may then be shut. It should be noted that the handle H9 may not be pushed fully down unless the door H6 is completely closed. If the door is not closed correctly and fully, the end of the handle will strike the lip H5 and, as there is very little clearance between the handle 9 and the casing cover I, it will be impossible to close cover I. This will serve to warn the operator that the tub door is not properly or fully closed. If desired, a safety switch I24 may be installed on the casing.

I claim:

1. A'laundry machine container, comprising, a spherically curved wall member formed with a discharge opening and having an upstanding lip around the margin of said opening, a cover for said opening formed with a curvature similar to that of the adjacent portions of said wall member, said cover being mounted inside of the container at said discharge opening and of larger area than that of the opening, a pivot pin mounted on a marginal portion of the cover and passing through the wall member at a point adjacent said discharge opening, resilient means on said pin to normally and continuously urge the outer face or the cover against the inner face of the wall member as the cover swings around said pivot pin, the cover snugly fitting said inner face when the cover is in position over the discharge opening, a handle pivoted at one of its ends to the cover adjacent a marginal portion thereof, the length of the handle being substantially the same as the diameter of the discharge opening, the handle when swung upwardly forming a grip for swinging the cover open and the upstanding handle forming a stop for the cover open position, and when the cover is in closed position the handle being swingable closed until the handle is swung to raised position.

2. A laundry machine comprising an outer casing having an opening in one wall and a lid hinged adjacent to the casing opening for swinging movement of the lid to open and closed position, a container having a spherically curved wall formed with a discharge opening and having an upstanding lip around the margin of said opening adjacent said casing opening, a spherically curved cover mounted inside of the container at said discharge opening and swingably connected to said container wall to move into open and closed positions, a handle swingably mounted on the outer face of said cover adjacent one edge thereof, the length of the handle being substantially the same as the diameter of the discharge opening, the handle when swung upwardly striking one edge of the discharge opening and lip when the cover is moved to open position, and both ends of the handle striking the lip at opposite edges of the discharge opening when the cover is closed and the handle moved against the cover, the handle when open preventing closing of the casing lid.

3. A laundry machine container, comprising, a spherically curved wall member formed with a discharge opening and an upstanding lip surrounding said opening, a cover inside of said opening and formed with a curvature similar to that of the adjacent portions of said wall member, said cover being of larger diameter than that of the discharge opening and underlapping the wall member around said opening when the cover is closed, said cover being pivotally connected to the wall member adjacent said opening and being pivotally swingable across said opening in arcs having the axis of the pivotal connection as a center, and a handle pivoted at one of its ends to the outer surface of the cover adjacent one edge of the opening when the cover is closed, the length of the handle being'substantially the same as the diameter of the discharge opening, the ends of the handle contacting the opposite inner sides of the lip when the cover is slid edgewise to closed position and the handle is closed, to lock the cover in closed position.

4. A container as claimed in claim 3, in which the longitudinal center line of the handle forms a substantial angle laterally of a line passing through the center of the cover and the axis of pivotal connection of the cover and wall member when both the cover and the handle are closed.

5. A laundry machine container, comprising, a spherically curved wall member having a discharge opening, a spherically curved cover pivotally connected with the wall member and slidable edgewise within the wall member in arcs having the axis of the pivotal connection as a center to open and close said opening, and a handle having a length substantially the same as the diameter of the discharge opening, said handle being pivotally connected to the outer face of the cover adjacent one edge thereof, said handle being swingable outwardly to release the cover for edgewise swinging to open the discharge opening, and the handle being swingable inwardly when the cover is closed, the ends of the handle contacting the opposite edges of the discharge opening to lock the cover in closed position when the cover is closed and the handle swung inwardly until its free end contacts the cover.

JOHN F. HORVA'I'H.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 432,474 Brinkop July 15, 1890 615,586 Sutterley Dec. 6, 1898 0 643,949 Deane Feb. 20, 1900 1,488,801 Albanese Apr. 1, 1924 1,630,513 Balzer May 31, 1927 1,998,373 Love Apr. 16, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 648,293 Germany July 28, 1937 

